


Worth the Itch

by NachoDiablo



Series: Itchy-Verse [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Demisexual!Remus, Genderfluid Character, James Potter is the biggest wolfstar trash, Other, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, farmer's market flirting, genderfluid!Sirius
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 06:47:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11143050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NachoDiablo/pseuds/NachoDiablo
Summary: Sirius is smitten with the adorable curly-haired boy who stops by their booth at the farmer's market every week.





	Worth the Itch

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CanisConstellation](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanisConstellation/gifts).



> Sending all the heart-eye emojis to CanisConstellation. Thanks for being so freaking awesome, literally all the time.
> 
> This was written for the Wolfstar Introvert Club's weekly prompt (@introvert-club on Tumblr). Prompts are open to everyone, and a new one is posted each Saturday.
> 
> This week's prompt was as follows:
> 
> “Remus and Sirius’ friends are tired of watching them deny their obvious affection for each other, and make it their personal goal to get the two to admit to their feelings.”

“Prongs, are you going to help me with this or not?” Sirius is scowling as he struggles with sliding the folding table out of the the van, wincing as one end lands heavily on his foot.

 

“I’m dealing with the inventory.” James is crouched in the back of the van, fussing with the coolers, not caring that Sirius is risking life and limb. The table falls to the pavement with a loud clatter, causing James to look back at Sirius reproachfully. “Ugh, fine. Let me help you before you break something.”

 

Sirius huffs as he grabs one end of the table and waits for James to make his way slowly out of the van. “Hurry up! We don’t want to keep the customers waiting.”

 

“The farmer’s market won’t open for another hour, Pads. You just don’t want to keep  _ your boyfriend _ waiting.” James is smirking as he grabs the other end of the table and lifts, helping Sirius walk it over to the front of the van and pop out the legs.

 

Sirius rolls his eyes as he sets his end of the table down. “Remus is a customer, Prongs, so no, I don’t want to keep him waiting. And he’s not my boyfriend.”

 

“Then how’d you know I was talking about him?” James has an irritatingly smug look on his face. Sirius wants to pinch him.

 

“Because you’re obsessed with him. Maybe  _ you _ should date him if you’re so concerned about his love life.” Sirius starts setting up the tablecloth and signage, avoiding James’ gaze.

 

James lets out a snort of laughter. “It’s not me he stops by to see every week. It’s not my ass he’s ogling.”

 

“Well it’s not mine he’s ogling, either.” Sirius’ shoulder slump a bit. He will not admit to James that he has a tiny bit of a huge crush on the curly-haired boy with the sunny smile who is their first customer every Saturday without fail. It would be different if he was sure his affections were returned, but Remus is not like the other people who stop by the the DeerStar Homemade Soymilk booth to flirt with Sirius, making suggestive comments and eyeing Sirius with a hungry gaze.

 

Remus is different.

 

“Lily! Remus! Fancy meeting you two here.” James is smiling as a couple approaches the booth. Sirius notices that James is standing up straighter and fussing a bit with his hair.

 

“Hi James, nice to see you again.” Remus is smiling as he waves to James before turning to Sirius, and maybe it’s Sirius’ imagination, but he thinks Remus’ smile widens ever so slightly.

 

“Good morning Sirius. He, today?” Remus’ eyes dart downward.

 

Sirius smiles happily. Most other people would need a moment while taking in Sirius’ torn jeans and black tshirt in contrast with his winged liner, red lips and intricate braided bun. Remus, however, knows right away that black Converse usually mean it’s a “he” day. He knows this, but he still checks, just to make sure. 

 

When they first met, Sirius had told Remus that “they” would be fine for everyday pronoun use. Most people would have smiled and accepted that. Easy peasy. Remus, however, had noticed something in the way Sirius’ smile fell slightly. Remus had asked again, very gently, if Sirius was sure. And he’d asked every week since that day eight months ago.

 

“Yes, thank you. How was your exam on Thursday?” Sirius laughs as Remus makes a choking face. “That good, huh?”

 

“Ugh, it was murder. The professor has to have been high when she wrote it. There wasn’t enough vodka in the world to drown my sorrows afterwards, not that I didn’t give it a good try anyway.” Remus laughs along with Sirius as he tugs as the curls by his left ear.

 

Sirius notices Lily and James exchanging an exasperated look. He narrows his eyes at them. Meddling busybodies.

 

“Lily, where’s my soap? You told me you’d save me a citrus rosemary this week. Prongs left my last bar in a Motel 6 in Reno.” Sirius grins as Lily hands over a bar of soap neatly packaged in white paper.

 

“Here you go, Sirius. Best of the batch, of course. We have to treat our friends right, don’t we Remus?”

 

Lily is eyeing Remus with a hard gaze, but he seems not to notice as he looks over at the sign on the DeerStar table, though Sirius notices a slight flush on his cheeks.

 

“Mhm, yep. So, what flavors have you got today, sir?” Remus looks back up at Sirius, still smiling.

 

Sirius can’t help but smile back. Remus’ good humor is contagious. “Well, today we’ve got plain, vanilla, and green tea.”

 

Remus’ eyes wide. “Green tea soymilk? Sounds interesting.”

 

Sirius nods vigorously. “Yep, and it’s got antioxidants. Plus it’s authentic. Just like my grandmother’s servants used to make it. I can offer you a sample, if you like?”

 

“No- no, I’m sure it’ll be delicious. It always is!” Remus’ eyes are slightly wider than usual. Sirius thinks he can see Lily snickering out of the corner of his eye. 

 

Remus clears his throat before continuing. “I’ll take a bottle, please.”

 

“Sure thing.” Sirius grabs a bottle out of the cooler, handing it over, feeling giddy as their fingers brush together. “On the house. Since it’s a new flavor. You’ll uh, you’ll let me know what you think of it, right?”

 

Remus looks a bit nervous. Lily looks like she’s about to burst with laughter. James is shaking his head at Sirius condescendingly. Sirius scowls back at him.

 

“Yeah, of course. See you around!” Remus waves quickly before grabbing Lily’s hand and dragging her away.

 

\-------

 

“Hello, miss? You look lovely today. Particularly your hairstyle. You always get that bow to sit just right.” 

 

Sirius smiles to herself before standing up from the cooler and turning around to see Remus grinning at her, with Lily standing just behind him, one eyebrow raised.

 

Sirius is beaming. “Thank you very much. It’s just something I threw together.”

 

“Bullshit! You woke up thirty minutes early to pin your hair into that poof!” James is snickering as he waves to Lily and Remus. Sirius is going to lock him in the back of the van at the end of the day. Possibly earlier.

 

“Well I like it. Very pretty. As always.” There’s a faint blush on Remus’ cheeks, but he’s not eyeing Sirius the same way the creepy people who stop by the booth do. There is genuine, respectful admiration in his eyes, which Sirius does not find surprising, as she knows she looks especially nice today. 

 

She’s wearing her favorite dress, the thrifted 1950’s red halter with white polkadots and wide white patent leather belt. She prefers halters since they don’t have to be altered much to fit her broad shoulders. Her hair flows in soft waves down to her shoulders, with the front pinned up and held in place with a vintage white satin bow. Most people would have assumed that the dress was indicating the “she” day, but Sirius knows it was the bow that tipped Remus off. Whether she is in dirty jeans or a nice dress, Sirius only wears the white bow on “she” days.

 

“Thank you, Remus. You look nice as well. Um, like always.” Sirius knows her face must be crimson from the way Lily is biting back her laughter as she walks over to talk to James, but she attempts to play it cool anyway. “I finished the newest season of Steven Universe, so now we’re both caught up. I can’t believe they let a show that gay on a kid’s channel. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome, but I mean, come on, how do the homophobes not realize how freaking gay it is?”

 

Remus is laughing as he leans against the table. “I know, right? How the hell do people see Ruby and Sapphire as  _ best friends _ only? People are so obtuse.” He pauses for a moment, squinting his eyes slightly as he looks closely at Sirius’ face.

 

“How do you do it? Get that cat-eye liner so perfect? It must have taken so much practice.”

 

Sirius shrugs. “Not really. I mean, I suppose when I was thirteen it must have looked like shit, but you pick it up pretty fast.” Sirius stares at Remus thoughtfully for a moment. Remus is currently wearing red skinny jeans and an off-the-shoulder black top. Sirius has seen Remus in all sorts of clothing styles, but she realizes that she’s never seen him wear makeup.

 

“You know, if you ever wanted to try it out, I’d be happy to give you some pointers. I could even show you- um, if you wanted, I could, you know. Show you how. To put it on.” Sirius knows her face must be bright pink by now, but it can’t possibly be as flushed as Remus’.

 

Remus is flushing as he rubs one of his eyes with his fist. “Um, I mean… that would be nice but… I’m allergic to most makeup. That’s why I don’t wear it. It looks so cool but I’d probably end up with my eyes swollen shut.”

 

“I bet you’d look still look cute, though.” The words fly out of her mouth before Sirius can stop them. She curses inwardly as James and Lily shake with silent laughter next to them, and Remus’ face turns completely red.

 

“On that note, Rem, what flavor are you going to choose today? Maybe you should get two bottles this week, eh? Maybe three or four? I know how much you love it.” There’s a mocking tone in Lily’s voice that confuses Sirius, especially as Remus glares at Lily reproachfully.

 

“One bottle will be fine. Plain, please.” Remus turns back to Sirius, pulling out a handful of bills. “Here, take this. You can’t give me freebies every week. And since this week’s is plain, you can’t trick me into accepting it as a sample for review, either.”

 

Sirius’ heart sinks a bit as she takes the money from Remus. “I didn’t mean- I just like sharing with you, is all. It’s just a- a friendly discount.”

 

She cheers up a bit when Remus grabs her hand and squeezes it lightly. “I- thank you. But you don’t have to bribe me with free soymilk. Your company is enough to entice me here each week.”

 

Remus is biting his lower lip, staring at the ground intently. Sirius smiles as she squeezes Remus’ hand in return. “Until next week then?” She grins as she hands over the bottle, enjoying the way Remus relaxes as he looks up at her.

 

“Absolutely. Hope you have good sales today.” Remus’ sunny smile does not dim as he walks away, looking over his shoulder repeatedly until he’s lost in the market crowd.

 

\-------

 

Sirius wipes a hand across their forehead. They hate coming to the market during a heatwave. Even the normally chill hipsters get cranky with the sun beating down on them, making their ironic mustaches droop and their concert tshirts damp with pit stains.

 

Sirius is in pastel plaid city shorts and a loose white tank top, their hair pulled back tightly into a bun and wrapped with a scarf, their feet shoved into James’ too-small flip flops, since their own strappy sandals broke on their way out the door. 

 

As irritated as they are, they can’t help but perk up as Remus and Lily approach the booth. When Remus gets closer, Sirius begins to laugh as they notice that Remus’ shorts are identical to their own.

 

“I love your shorts, Remus. Where’d you get them, Milan? Paris?”

 

Remus looks at Sirius and starts snickering. “I had them custom made, of course. I see that you, too are familiar with my personal tailor, the elusive Old Navy?”

 

Sirius winks. “I always knew you had good taste, Remus. You know-”

 

“Do YOU KNOW, James?” Lily is speaking very loudly, almost at a shout, causing Remus and Sirius to both jump and turn towards her.

 

“Do YOU KNOW that Remus is allergic to soy?” Lily looks pointedly at Remus, who ducks his head and raises one hand to cover his eyes.

 

“I DID NOT know that, Lily.” James’ voice is also far too loud for an allegedly private conversation. “Isn’t it SO ODD that Remus has bought a bottle of soymilk from us EVERY SINGLE WEEK for the past TEN MONTHS? And yet he is allergic to soy, you say? How TERRIBLY ODD!”

 

“I AGREE, James. Do you suppose that possibly, there is ANOTHER REASON as to why Remus stops by your booth EVERY SINGLE WEEK without fail?”

 

“Lily, WHOA, you are SO SMART!” James leaps back in exaggerated surprise. Sirius wants to strangle him and dump his body in the compost heap behind one of the sketchy pot farms off the 92.

 

“Do you think MAYBE Remus comes here EVERY SINGLE WEEK for the SAME REASON that Sirius LEAPS OUT OF THEIR PANTS every time Remus approaches them?”

 

“WOW James! What exactly are you implying? WHAT COULD BE THE REASON?” Lily’s jaw is hanging open mockingly. Sirius wants to throw themself into the street to be trampled by the jogging strollers that push their way through the crowd relentlessly.

 

“OH WHOA! HOLD UP, LILY! Do you think that it is possible that they LIKE each other? Like, IN A ROMANTIC way? 

 

“WHAT? NO WAY! James, that can’t be true, because surely ONE OF THEM would be MATURE ENOUGH to say something after ALL THIS TIME?!” Lily has one hand pressed to her heart.

 

“SO TRUE. I suppose we'll never know. THE MYSTERY REMAINS.” James grins as he holds out his arm. “Well, since we failed to solve the mystery, how about you and I head over to that dude who sells those chocolate croissants and drown our sorrows in a sugar high?”

 

Lily links her arm through his as they head down the road, laughing and tossing smug glances over their shoulders.

 

Sirius is going to die. Right here, in the middle of the hell that is the farmer’s market at eight in the morning, in the middle of the worst heatwave the town’s seen in fifteen years, surrounded by hipsters telling them to just eat some kale or do some yoga, that’ll definitely cure death, in front of the boy they’ve been crushing on for nearly a year.

 

They always knew it would end like this. In a whirlwind of sweaty embarrassment.

 

They turn to look at Remus, who has his arms crossed over his chest. Sirius clears their throat nervously. “Um, look, about what James said-”

 

“I’m demisexual.” Remus looks surprised at the words that flow out of his mouth, but he seems unable to stop himself. “I’m demisexual, and you know, not everyone gets that, especially around these parts, most people are looking to get into the physical part right away, and I can’t promise anything, but I really like you and I thought- but I wasn’t sure-” 

 

Remus is tugging at his curls in frustration. Sirius reaches out to grab both of his hands, lacing their fingers together.

 

“Look Remus, I… that is… you’re the only one who…” Sirius trails off for a moment before meeting Remus’ eyes, wide and kind as they always are, causing Sirius’ stomach to flutter in a pleasant, warm way that has nothing to do with the weather.

 

“I like... um, I like you, too.”

 

Most people would laugh at how trite that sounds. Most people would smirk at the blush spreading across Sirius’ cheeks. Most people would ask for a more eloquent explanation.

 

But Remus is different. Remus has always been different. And Sirius hopes that he always will be.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! You can find me obsessing over all things wolfstar and marauders on Tumblr (@nachodiablo).


End file.
